Mary Stevens (and others) gave a us a clearer understanding on the difference between sterilization (the complete removal of all microbial life) and sanitization (sufficient removal of bacteria for safe consumption) and then gave us this easy idea: " A good safeguard that many people useÉis to pour hot (scalding) water over everything when you are through washing them." This idea was repeated in various formats by many people, but the idea of of pouring the water over the finished dishes seems especially promisingÐÐand could perhaps use less water if the water is reheated and reused in the same evening. As some folks pointed out, heating the water might be energy intensive, but can often be helped by harnessing waste heat from cooking.
Lynne Derus gave us many more good sanitization tips along similar lines: " In general, bacteria and viruses aren't especially attracted to nice, clean, uncracked glass, metal, or ceramics. Wood and plastic are both a little more problematic, but the big issue is getting the dishes truly clean, in other words, removing all the food (including oils, which may be suspended in overused wash water) and all the soap film.
"Be sure to use a clean cloth (not a delicious biomedium sponge) every day. Wash in hot and start with the things that touch your mouth: cutlery and glasses, progress to dishes, and end with the pots and pans which are going to get hot next time they cook, anyway. Change the water as often as needed to keep it looking clean and feeling hot. Excellent scraping and pre-rinsing in gray water can reduce the rate of needed change.
"Then, when the dishes are really clean, if greater assurance is required, they can be dipped in boiling water. It REALLY gets rid of the oils [remaining on the dishes], therefore the growth medium. Girl Scouts all have mesh bags to put their clean dishes in. They dip the whole bag in the pot of boiling water, and hang it up to dry. One can also use those tongs with rubber grips favored by canners to dip the dishes one by one. Air dry. (How clean is the dish towel, really?)"
Wade Trevathan, an environmental toxicologist with Oregon State University and who just happens to work with the National Antimicrobial Information Network, gave us the following information: "Sanitizing any surface will require the use of some chemical. Now hot soapy water is a very effective cleaner and will remove a majority of germs, however in a community kitchen there are always challenges. If you are looking for chemical alternatives I must state that vinegar, Bon Ami and other "eco-friendly" chemicals are not sanitizers. They can be effective grease cutters and cleaners, but they will not kill germs. So in choosing a sanitizer, you have many options. Quite a few classes of chemicals will be effective but you are likely looking for those that are the least toxic and most environmentally harmonious.
"My first question is what are your concerns about using household bleach? You may initially list the formation of toxic byproducts such as dioxin, trihalomethanes, and chlorine itself. All the science I have reviewed (and that is my primary job) shows that these pollutants are a problem only in large scale settings. You need enormous amounts of organic material to generate such pollutants. So, pulp and paper mills, water treatment plants, etc. is where you have a problem.
"So I hope this doesn't sound as though I am defending bleach but I feel it truly is a very useful, effective, cheap and (if used right) safe option. There are many misconceptions about bleach. Like any chemical it must be used appropriately, but over one hundred years of use has shown us how effective a tool it can be. For your setting the only concern would be for sensitive individualsÉ Bleach breaks down quickly. It can leave a powder residue but this is simply sodium chloride or table salt.
"There are also iodine solutions. These are effective, low in toxicity and may be less irritating to people, but more expensive, of course.
"If you are considering an antimicrobial soap, their necessity is somewhat questionable. They may not provide any more benefit than plain old soap. And finally, if your aren't experiencing any illness and you are diligent about washing and cleanliness then the use of a sanitizer may not even be necessary. You can't go wrong with hot, soapy water."
The concern we still have with bleach is whether bleach production facilities are harmful to their surrounding environments. We'll let you know what we find out.
Finally, Jesus Cabral gave us the following radical idea (which some of us already practice!): " While visiting Krutsio (in Baja) many years ago I learned their way: Lick the dishes after eating, so there are no leftovers on them that may pose a threat to your health! The rationale behind could be this in short: what's on your saliva that is not in mine? I'm not kidding. If you do so some advantages will come: you enjoy your food until the last bit, you don't waste food, dishes come to the sink already clean, so you just need very little water. Just think about it."
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